The National tribune., 1887-12-15
THE PUBLIC DEBT.

fees could be measured in money.
THE PUBLIC DEBT.
The report Of the Secretary Of the Treas
ury of the condition of the public debt for the
month of November, 1887, states that the in
terest-bearing portion consists of the follow
ing items:
Tile Of Rate Of When
Loan fIs9l 4ykper cent Sept. l. lsOi-s23O. O.5iIGOo
=" 1907 July. l, 1907 7s2, 1850
Refundng Certificates .-..............-..... l525so
Navy Pension Fund 100000
Pacific Railroad 6iG235l2
OIl, ,76l 542
Three of the five items in the above state
ment are ofno public interest now. These
are the Refunding Certificates, the Navy Pen
sion Fund and the bonds of the Pacific Rail-
roads The first is merely nominal item,
the second is a fund held in trust for the
Navy, and the third is an Endorsement Of n
debt which, principal and interest, is owed
by the Pacific Railroads Therefore the
debt properly consists of but two items:
The Al per cents, due Sept. ], 1891, and the
4 per cents, due July /, 1907, and aggre-
eating as follows:
Due Sept. !, 1891. 54i COO
July j, i4o, $50
ss5, $50
The first consideration which occurs to a
man who studies this statement is the great
need Of the United States at once beginning
preparations to pay off those bonds which
mature three years from the first of Sep
tember next, and thus get rid of One-quarter
of its Indebtedness, and stop the heavy drain
of interest AT AZ per cent. the interest on
$3.50, 600 reaches the enormous amount Of
$l0s374,507 year, or more than the total
annual expenses Of the Government up to
the breaking out of the war of 1912.
An equally important consideration is that
by paying off those bonds the capital that is
now locked up in them viii be released and
made TO seek other investments. Instead Of
the bondholders getting comfortable returns
from the United States for the use of their
money, they viii have to build railroads or
factories with it TO make ii earn them an in
come, and so the prosperity of the entire
country will be enhanced to that extent A
vast amount Of dormant capital will sud-
denly become an active agent in the devel-
opment of our National wealth. Patriotism
and sound business reasons both dictate that
this should be the policy of the Government
OF course, the bondholders do not want
the United States to be ready to pay that
portion of the debt, or any portion of it
Nothing would suit them better than that
the Government should be compelled to re-
fund the bonds and give their holders an
other lease of 10, 20, 80, perhaps so years of
coupon cutting. That is why they are
SO vehement about reducing the revenue,
destroying our machinery for raising taxes,
and getting rid Of the surplus II, when the
time comes for paying the debt Uncle Sam
has no money in his Treasury, and no means
by which he can raise any, he will be at the
mercy Of these bondholders, and will have
10 renew his notes to them. The thing is so
transparent that no one who really wishes
can help seeing through it.
BY the time the present session of Con-
gress ends it will not be many weeks over
three years until Sept ], 1891. Three years
is not an extraordinary length of time for
even SO rich man as Uncle Sam to raise
such sum as S23O,544,6OO. The highest
figure at which the surplus is put will not
much more than accumulate that sum in
that time. Besides, it is confidently ex-
pected that long before this session ends
Congress will do the soldiers of the country
the long-promised, long-desired justice. 1t
should pay them the arrears honestly due
them, equalize the bounties, increase the
lower ratings from the present beggarly
pittances 10 sum sufficient to procure the
pensioner the necessaries Of life, rescue the
disabled and dependent veterans from the
almshouses, and make other provisions of
equal justice In paying this sacred debt to
the soldiers and in providing payment for
that due the bondholders, it will need all its
revenues, and there will be no occasion for
misunderstanding hands TO bungle and tinker
with the delicate and complicated system
which has cost the country SO much TO bring
TO its present equitable adjustment and per-
fection Of operation.
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE BOOM.
The work ofclub- raising goes on from week
10 week, with increasing impetus. This